Somehow January has flown by and the last two weeks have been full of activities. I will briefly go over what has transpired and then I want to fulfill a commitment I made to the Sister Missionaries in writing my testimony down. This is something I don’t think I have ever done before.
I was asked to speak at the YSA Branch on January 19 on the subject of Temple Preparation as we are starting a new group of students in the Temple Preparation course. Cindy came to support me which was very kind.
Lahina Cy agreed to visit Emily Leavitt for a ministering visit with me. Lahina is very sweet and sincerely seemed to enjoy the opportunity to serve. She is anxious to do more.
Jonny and Jennifer came out to spend Jeff’s birthday last weekend with him and all three of them came to stay with me. Jenn’s friend Kristin joined them in their activities and Jeff said it was the best birthday he has ever had. I am so glad. Jenn and Jonny left Sunday morning and Jeff came to church with us before Cindy drove him back to Wagner Hills. He is doing well.
Last week we had Hula practice Wednesday evening, dress rehearsal Friday evening for the Stake Variety Show and the actual performance Saturday evening. People seemed to enjoy seeing Sister Walker dance. I did it out of love for my dear friend Bela and I hope Tom was happy too. That may be my last dancing performance.
I taught the first YSA Temple Preparation class last Sunday and had fourteen students attend. That is my largest class thus far. I love teaching, I love the young adults and I love the Temple.
I have been busy getting things done at home this week and had the Sister Missionaries for dinner last night. I had the Hardys the week before and bought them A+W when they came to take my outdoor Christmas lights down.
I was able to get Zachary’s money transferred to him successfully. These allocations of money to each of the grandchildren was something Tom wanted to do and we were able to do it for Justin, Max and Ross before Tom’s passing. This was my first attempt on my own. I also picked our safety deposit box items up from the bank they had sent them to and brought things to my local branch, which makes more sense. I am trying to handle finances and everything else Tom would have taken care of or which we would have done together, wisely and well. Stretching on all levels has been the name of the game for me.
As usual, it has been a busy couple of weeks and busy is actually good for me. I also try to phone or contact friends who are sick or struggling and I took Mary and Lincoln some dinner. I am trying to be of benefit to some, in some way. I pray, pray, pray for my family and others too and sometimes that is all I can do.
Let me now share my testimony. I do not believe that I have ever written my testimony down and whether writing or speaking I feel my words are very inadequate on this topic. I have had a testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Jesus Christ since I was a little girl. I seemed to have a believing heart. I knew that the baby featured in our cardboard Nativity set was in fact the Christ child and someone very special. I knew that Jesus in the Bible stories my mother read to us had lived and fulfilled an important role for all mankind. That love for and belief Him made me feel certain in the truthfulness of His Gospel. These experiences, coupled with the faithfulness of my mother, my grandparents and other family and friends, gave me an assurance that my feelings and beliefs were on solid ground. As I attended seminary, read my scriptures and learned from others in various settings, my understanding for the feelings I already had became more evident. There were definitely times when the spirit bore witness to me of the truthfulness of it all but mostly my feelings could be described as confidence and bedrock peace. With Tom’s passing I have felt the greatest grief my heart has ever experienced but I have also felt the most overwhelming constant peace that I have ever experienced. I believe the confidence and peace I have experienced at this time and throughout my life is a witness of the Holy Ghost. I believe that is my love language with the Lord. Through that personalized witness just for me, I can say that I know the Savior lives and loves me and that he atoned for me and all mankind. I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in preparation for His return and the principles taught and the covenants and ordinances contained within it, come from the Savior and provide us a way to safely navigate this life and find our way back to Him and His Heavenly Home. I know that the Book of Mormon truly witnesses of the Savior and His gospel and it was given by Him, through the efforts of his faithful servants, to help us come unto Him. I know that Joseph Smith struggled to initiate the restoration and bring the Book of Mormon forth and that he was a prophet of God. I know that with the restoration we once more have prophets in the land and we have men and women giving their lives to bring forth the purposes of God. These are the things I know and I know them because the spirit has witnessed them to my heart and I have been blessed but confidence and great peace. These things I know.
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